User Comments - pearltowerpete
pearltowerpete
Posted on: Last and Next
November 10, 2008 at 3:06 AMHi macallus88
For non-natives, 了 is a trickster. It may give you trouble after years of study.
It has many uses. While early in your Chinese studies it may be useful for you to think of 了 as "the past tense particle," its uses are definitely not limited to this. And more important, not all past tense sentences need a 了.
了 is challenging both to teach and to study. Be wary of hard and fast rules.
Posted on: Do you like China?
November 10, 2008 at 3:00 AMHi trigrgrip,
No pun intended. Actually we used to use the word 菜鸟 but that led to even more confusion.
Posted on: The Artistic Little Brother
November 10, 2008 at 2:57 AMHi wande
Actually the construction is "妈妈从来没打过我--Mother has never hit me."
Although the sounds are similar, there is no 还 here. That construction doesn't exist.
Posted on: When 比较 (bǐjiào) becomes 更 (gèng)
November 9, 2008 at 11:55 PMHi christudent and bababardwan,
One of the reasons I couldn't live forever in a monastery is that I'm not suited to 六根清净 -- "stillness of the six roots of sensation" i.e. freedom from human desires.
B-b-b-bad to the bone.
Hi cassielin
Our cafeteria is actually really nice, and they have lots of vegetables and tofu for 素食主义者 like me.
Posted on: When 比较 (bǐjiào) becomes 更 (gèng)
November 9, 2008 at 11:44 PMHi xuchen and cassielin
You are too kind. I have not taken the ladies out for lunch yet. Maybe I will just treat them to some of the cafeteria food in our building. 不过amber很鄙视我们食堂的菜 ;-)
Posted on: When 比较 (bǐjiào) becomes 更 (gèng)
November 9, 2008 at 11:41 PMHi mikeinewshot
You don't need the 更 in your sentence. It would add emphasis but it's not strictly needed.
Posted on: DVDs and the Mao Suit
November 9, 2008 at 11:36 PMHi weijin
There appear to be two schools of thought what to call DVDs filmed in a theater-- google searches for 枪版 and 抢版 both have a lot of results. To me, 抢版makes more sense, though.
Sorry for the late reply. I am now back in Shanghai and ready to 为您服务.
Posted on: Good, Bad and Otherwise
November 6, 2008 at 8:11 AMHi monostumen,
Just decorational. I've always been a sucker for traditional characters.
Posted on: Buying a Plasma TV
November 6, 2008 at 12:33 AMHi kimiik,
No innuendo intended. Not this time, anyway.
But the point remains the same. If every TV in the planet suddenly split down the middle, this would be a smarter, freer, greener, and less fearful world.
Posted on: Tool Delivery
November 10, 2008 at 3:10 AMHi hwangd01,
tvan's reply was very good. And to clarify, the 量词 (measure word) for 故事 is 个, and for 事儿 is 件.